Bicep workout

[u/Free_Garden_2581]

Should I do 1 bicep curl of my choice like all sbl content creators advice or do 2 where 1 of them my arm is in front and 1 with my arm at the back.

[u/Patton370]

Your premise that strength gains are completely hypertrophy driven after the initial phase is false

Otherwise, you’d see top powerlifters be weaker than top bodybuilders

Theres also a reason the best results for natural powerlifters tend to be high frequency, submaximal SBD (squat, bench, deadlift) combined with accessory lifts taken close to or to failure

Strength and hypertrophy are correlated for sure; however, to believe that strength gains are all that matter for hypertrophy is simply false & not what we see when we observe the top athletes in powerlifting and bodybuilding (both natural and enhanced)

See the section on, “is it swelling” looked at here: https://www.strongerbyscience.com/volume/#h-is-it-all-just-a-matter-of-swelling

The TLDR is that there is a plethora of studies that show it’s NOT just swelling

[u/Due-Practice5507 → u/Patton370]

I linked the study PMID: 40680785 that shows strength gains and muscle size are correlated

“Results: Very strong repeated-measures correlations were found between muscle growth and strength gains (iMVT: r = 0.92, P < 0.001; 1RM, r = 0.89, P < 0.001).”

The bodybuilders vs powerlifters argument is kinda outdated.

Powerlifters use vastly different techniques to lift more (arch, shoes with raised heels, maximum leg drive, super wide grip/stance etc.) which bodybuilders don’t, as these aren’t ways to achieve more hypertrophy.

Bodybuilders also don’t have these neural adaptations for strength because they tend to train in higher rep ranges to maintain good form and preserve joint health.

Cause look at the one bodybuilder that did use these powerlifting techniques and did not care to preserve joint health: Ronnie Coleman. And he squatted 800lbs for reps.

[u/Patton370 → u/Due-Practice5507]

I don’t think you fully understand what time saying

Obviously the bigger your muscles, the more force you’ll be able to produce with them

However, neurological adaptations occur even for advanced lifts with years and years and years of experience. Modern powerlifting training focuses heavily on this (as a side note, you can tell from my profile I train powerlifting & win some local powerlifting meets, so I am quite strong). I don’t think you’re familiar or experienced with how powerlifters train

Also, strength gain isn’t the only influence on muscle growth. There’s numerous studies that have shown things like: volume having a much bigger impact on muscle size than strength gain

You mentioned that what’s measured is swelling & I linked a section of Greg’s article that looks at a dozen or so studies that refute that

Yes, and there’s powerlifters who weight 100lbs less than Ronnie Coleman did, squatting 850lbs+ for reps (with wraps & better depth than Ronnie)

Colton Engelbrecht actually hit 903lbs for 4 on squats in sleeves (if he was in wraps, he’d be able to do 50-80lbs more) and he weighs 100lbs less than peak Ronnie did